By Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
Arlington's goalkeeper, Shane Mattis, makes a diving attempt but is beaten for the second time with a goal from Tivoli Gardens' Lenworth Hyde Jnr. (out of picture) in the 41st minute during their Wray and Nephew National Premier League match at Edward Seaga Stadium yesterday. Tivoli Gardens won 5-0. - JUNIOR DOWIE/Staff Photographer
TIVOLI GARDENS took the initiative early with some hard work that paved the way for an easy 5-0 thrashing of debutants Arlington in their rescheduled Wray and Nephew National Premier League match yesterday.
Prodigious midfielder Lenworth Hyde Jnr. gave the reigning champions the perfect start at homely Edward Seaga Stadium with a goal in the first minute.
Hyde's bold play was a feature throughout a contest he capped with a brilliant second goal, struck with venom and precision from outside the area in the 41st minute.
It was the only goal for which goaltender Shane Mattis could not be blamed in a first half largely controlled by the home side; and the 3-0 advantage it gained so close to the interval effectively killed off the contest.
"We talked about getting to them early, licking the sting out of them early and it paid off," Tivoli's coach, Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey, revealed.
GIFT
In between Hyde's goals, wiry Seba transfer Kemar Mills gleefully accepted a gift to push the score to 2-0 by heading into goal a loose ball that was carelessly spilt by Mattis in the 33rd minute.
There was hardly another chance in the first stanza worth remembering, much like the unconvincing play of Arlington which kept feeding Tivoli possession with hasty clearances from defence each time the homesters lost the ball.
The forwards versus defenders training routine was transformed somewhat in the second half with Arlington opting for more possession as they tried to build attacking plays by using their linkmen as a gateway.
In terms of quality, it never improved the game as the contestants virtually went through the motions and, if anything, it was more through the intent of substitutes looking to make their mark than teams putting in greater effort that the second 45 minutes was more competitive.
LOCAL TALENT
Christopher Nicholas, an under-utilised local talent, quickly exposed the game's shortcomings seconds after replacing Roland Dean with an easy goal in the 63rd minute.
Two minutes later, the tireless Steve Green was rewarded for his industry from a corner kick floated in by the junior Hyde. He expertly headed down the ball powerfully in the direction from which it had come, to beat the goalie comprehensively and complete the rout for Tivoli, who moved to third on eight points, one behind joint leaders Harbour View and Arnett Gardens.
Afterwards, Green admitted: "We never got 100 per cent out of the players because from the first 15 minutes we had the game wrapped up."
The loss brought some focus to the plight of the novice team which is a point off the bottom after losing twice in four winless outings in the top flight.
"The real purpose right now is to try to play to stay in the league," admitted coach Oneil Thomas. "I think we have the quality but the important thing is the application."
